Blending Chemistry with Compassion: UCLA Engineering Student Seeks to Improve Lives through Product Innovation

When Victoria Madu was 8 years old, she baked a birthday cake for her younger brother, substituting eggs with applesauce because of her brother’s allergy. The family’s oven was unreliable, and the “cake” turned out to be what Madu called “a barely edible custard pie.” Yet, the experience planted a seed in the young girl’s mind.

“That was my first encounter with how different ingredients, substances or chemical changes impact the nature of physical things and how my own authoritative decisions when problem-solving can have irreversible consequences,” Madu recalled of the experience.

Now a second-year chemical engineering student at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, Madu has carried that early lesson in experimentation into a field that merges science with creativity. With aspirations ranging from developing pharmaceuticals to formulating cosmetics, she is driven by a curiosity about the chemistry of everyday products and a passion for spreading love through innovations that help people in their daily lives.

Growing up in Long Island, New York, Madu has always loved math. The logic and objectivity of numbers and formulas appealed to her. But it wasn’t until middle school that she started considering how her broad interests — including science, art and sociology — might fit into a career. 

Then, in sixth grade, Madu lost her favorite aunt, Keisha, whose love for hairstyling and fashion left a lasting impression on her niece.

“She always made me feel understood as a child because she was so creative in everything she did,” said Madu of her aunt. “After she passed, I always considered how I would honor her in my own career.”

At one point, Madu considered following in her aunt’s footsteps, looking into a hairstyling program at her high school. But her mother — a nurse who emigrated from Spanish Town, Jamaica to provide a better life for the family — was less enthusiastic about the idea.

Instead of abandoning her interest in hair care, Madu reimagined it — thinking beyond the products to the science behind them, the chemical formulations that determine how they work and innovations that could improve them.

“I tried my best to synthesize my interests into a career that’s more tangible,” she said. “And that resulted in my interest in chemical engineering, and more specifically, cosmetics.”

UCLA Samueli initially appealed to Madu because of its academic prestige. But it was the school’s Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED) that ultimately made her decide to attend UCLA.

“My hope is whatever career path I take after graduating, I am able to innovate in ways that affect regular people like myself,” Victoria Madu said.

Since meeting CEED’s director Catherine Douglas on Bruin Day, Madu found friends, mentors and scholarship opportunities through the center’s many programs that have helped ease the transition for the out-of-state student.

She also found a second home in the UCLA chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), where she has taken on leadership roles at both the chapter and regional levels, becoming an advocate for diversity in STEM.

Beyond the classroom, Madu has explored a variety of hands-on engineering projects, from NSBE’s Autonomous Car Project to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Lifetime Engineering Applications Project. But her most formative experience came from an introductory engineering design course, 3D Pharmaceuticals, which expanded her knowledge and interest in a field she was introduced to at a young age by her father, a pharmacist who immigrated to the U.S. from Enugu, Nigeria.

That experience deepened her appreciation for the complex ways engineering intersects with medicine. It also reinforced a belief that has guided her since childhood: Science, when applied thoughtfully, has the power to directly improve people’s lives.

Madu’s interest in personal care products — whether it be baby care, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals — ties back to the values instilled in her by her parents. Her father runs a pharmaceuticals business, which helps raise awareness of medical conditions. Her mother spends her free time developing allergy-friendly recipes for the family. Madu sees engineering as a continuation of that legacy — a way to combine scientific innovation with care, empathy and real-world impact.

This summer, Madu will begin a process engineering internship at Procter and Gamble in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She will work on baby care product formulations, focusing on addressing babies’ sensitivity to different products.

“Since choosing chemical engineering, it has always been of interest for me to have my own hair care line,” Madu said. “But my hope is that whatever career path I take after graduating, I am able to innovate in ways that affect regular people like myself.”

For now, Madu is focused on making the most of her time at UCLA, continuing to learn, explore and challenge herself. And for high school students interested in STEM, especially girls and underrepresented minorities, she offers her favorite quote, often credited to Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” That, she says, means recognizing the strides made by those who came before her, building upon their legacies and pushing forward — even when representation is lacking.

“As someone of a minority background in engineering, you simply and unfortunately can’t expect to see yourself, your community, or even your specific motivations, goals and interests represented to a high extent within STEM fields,” Madu said. “However, if that is a reason to give up, there will never be any more representation.

From childhood baking and hairstyling experiments to conducting hands-on research at UCLA, Madu is on a journey to find her own path. But one thing is clear. Science, for Madu, is more than a subject. It’s a tool for creativity, problem-solving and, above all, making a difference.